Winners announced at Yorkshire Bank Northern Business Jounrnalist of the Year Awards

Yorkshire Bank announced the winners in six categories of it's prestigious Awards, in Newcastle, 15th November 2001.

The 2001 Yorkshire Bank Northern Business Journalist of the Year Award winners were announced at a presentation dinner in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last night.

Daily Newspaper Journalist of the Year was Barry Turnbull, of the Liverpool Daily Post. Peter Jeffrey, of the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle, and Sheryl Moore, of the Yorkshire Post, were also shortlisted.

Announcing Barry Turnbulls award, Nick Garbutt, Yorkshire Banks head of corporate affairs, a member of the judging panel, said: His pieces were meticulously researched, crisply delivered, and placed the issues he addressed in a wider context. This was investigative reporting of the highest standard and our panel felt that his newspaper was to be congratulated for having the courage to publish it."

Weekly Newspaper Journalist of the Year was Martin Spooner, of the Wakefield Express, with David Sudworth, of the Southport Visiter and Jane Willis, of the Preston Citizen, also having been shortlisted.

Nick Garbutt said: The judges felt Martin provided particularly well-researched pieces, which included good quotes from many different parties and showed an ability to handle bad news sensitively."

Magazine Journalist of the Year was Aimée Turner, of Yorkshire Business Insider, who was commended in this category two years ago and was runner-up in 2000. Also shortlisted were Clare Greenshields, of Newsco Insider, and Jim Pendrill, of Finance Midlands Insider.

Nick Garbutt said: Aimée is a journalist whom the judges felt showed an ability to cover a wide variety of topics equally well, partly because of the thoroughness of her research. She delivered quality pieces, tackling sometimes difficult subjects very effectively."

The Broadcast Journalist of the Year title was won by Andy Gill, of Granada TV, who had been commended in the category last year. Arif Ansari, of BBC Radio Stoke and Steve Parks, of The Red Tape, the organisation which presents topical business information in the form of audio cassettes and CDs, were also shortlisted.

Nick Garbutt said: This category produced the closest contest of all, with just four points out of a maximum of 1,200 splitting Andy Gill and Steve Parks. Andy, the judges believed, prepared his pieces professionally and always made them enjoyable and informative."

Newspaper of the Year was the Journal, which is based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The other shortlisted entries were the Lincolnshire Echo and Yorkshire Post.

Nick Garbutt said: The Journal was a clear winner was praised by the judges for producing a daily business supplement which they saw as consistently lively and well-presented. They liked the range of business stories which it contained and the way it covered them in enough depth to leave the reader informed and satisfied."

Magazine of the Year was North West Business Insider, with the other shortlisted entries being The Journal Business Magazine and Yorkshire Business Insider.

Nick Garbutt said: The winner was singled-out for its originality and execution: it was seen as prepared to touch raw nerves and showing a refreshing lack of sycophancy. It addressed a wide range of issues and displayed a consistently high standard of analysis."

All the award winners were presented with engraved trophies and framed certificates by David Thorburn, Yorkshire Banks head of business financial services. The winners of the categories for individuals also received cheques for 800, double the amount winners received last year.

The 2001 scheme was expanded from the three categories of previous years. New records were set this year for the numbers of entries received and business journalists attending the presentation dinner, held at Newcastles Royal Station Hotel.

-Ends-

For further information, please contact: Tim Curran (e-mail: tim@ptarmiganpr.co.uk), at Ptarmigan Consultants, on 0113 242 1155.

Note To Editors

Yorkshire Bank is part of the National Australia Bank Group, (NAB), which is an international financial services group operating across four continents and 15 countries including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, New Zealand and throughout Asia. NAB has an asset base of A$355 billion (130 billion), assets under administration of A$325 billion (119 billion), more than twelve million customers globally and is ranked 54th largest by revenue in the world. Other members of the group in Europe are Clydesdale Bank in Glasgow, Northern Bank in Belfast and National Irish Bank in Dublin. For more information, visit the National website at www.national.com.au.